Mary OHartfs DiscographySongs of Erin:The Weaving Song - The Quiet Land of Erin -I wish I had the Shepherd's Lamb-The Bonnie Boy-Aililiu naGamnhna-She Moved Through the Fair-The Spanish Lady - Eileen Aroon - The SpinningWheel- DileenoDeamhas- Londonderry A i r -1 havea Bonnet Trimmed with Blue - Castle of Dromore -Next Market Day- My Lagan Love- Ceol a Phiobaire-Fill, Fill a Run O - Ballynure Ballad.

Monday, Tuesday —Songs for Children:The Frog and the Mouse - An Peata Circe - AiliuEanai - 1 Wish I had the Shepherd's Lamb - Fead anlolair-OroMoBhaidin-MyAuntJane-Hi-Didil-Dum- Deirin De - An Maidrin Rua - An Caitin Ban -A Dandling Song - Baidin Fhelimidh - Cogai-o-Gaog -I Have a Bonnet Trimmed with Blue - Dia Luain,Dia Mairt - An Luipreachan - Sweet Child of Glory.

Love Songs of Ireland:Deoindi - My Brown Haired Boy - The StutteringLovers - Ballinderry - Da Bfaighinn Mo Rogha -Beleive Me if all Those Endearing Young Charms -Anonn's Anall - I Know Where I'm Going - TheMinstral Boy - Paddy's Wife - I Know My Love -An Raibh Tu a'g Carraig ? - Loves Young DreamI Will Walk With My Love - Beidh Aonach Amaireach -Gaelic Hymn in praise of the Mother of God.

Songs of Ireland:Haigh Didil Dum - Carraig Donn - The Frog Song -Oro mo Bhaidin - Jackets Green - Seoladh naNgamhna - Wexford Mummers Song - Sliabh namBan - The Gartan Mother's Lullaby - Down by theGlenside - Maidrin Ruadh - Silent O Moyle - Dia LuainDia Mairt- Fain/veil but Whenever-The Lepraughan-Na Leanbhai I Mbeithil - The Famine Song - Shedidn't Dance

Music Speaks LouderThan Words:Music Speaks Louder Than Words - Annie's Song -Cucuin a Chuaichin - Oceans Away - Dust in theWind - The Snail - I'll Have to Say I Love You in aSong - Home in the Meadow - Scorn Not HisSimplicity -Ceol a' Phiobaire - Never My Love - RoisinDubh.

The Scent of the Roses:You Are The New Day - The Prayer of the Badger -The Rainbow Connection - Child of the Woodland -Green Finch and Linnet Bird - The Scent of theRoses - Try to Remember - The Garden Song -Ye Banks and Braes - As I Walked Forth OneSummers Day - Chanson Pour Les Petits Enfants -I Gave My Love a Cherry.

Mary O'Hara Live in New York:Carnegie Hall.Perhaps Love - Uist Cattle Croon - Oaken Ashes -Judas and Mary - In an English Country Garden -The Rose - Face to Face - The Snail - Say That I'llBe Sure to Find You - Tis a Gift t be Simple - Lord ofThe Dance - Greensleeves.

Tranquility:The Floral Dance - Streets of London - And I LoveYouSo-When I'm 64- Barbara Allen-1 Know WhereI'm Going - Shepherd's Song (Bailero) -Believe Meif allThose Endearing Young Charms-ScarboroughFair - What is Life to me Without Thee - Bright Eyes -Where E'er You Walk - Leaving on a Jet Plane -Eriskay Love Lilt - It's Me O Lord - Autumn Leaves -All Through the Night - Where Have All the FlowersGone ? - Drink to me Only With Thine Eyes -Killing Me Softly with His Song.

Mary O'Hara's Ireland:An Crann Ubhall - She Lived Beside the Anner -Cucuin a Chuaichin - Kitty of Coleraine - RoisinDubh - Down by the Sally Gardens - Luibin o Luth -I will Walk with My Love - Seoithin Seo - The Parting -Is ar Eirinn Ni n-Eosfainn Ce hi - The Last Rose ofSummer- Sean Sa Bhriste Leathair-Young BridgetO'Malley - Deus Meus - I Know My Love - SliabhGeal Gua na Feile - Trottin' to the Fair.

Mary O'Hara's Scotland:Willie's Gane Tae Melville Castle - Song of theWaterhorse - Annie Laurie - The Laird of Cockpen -Cro Chinn tsaile - A Shetland Lullaby - An FhideagAirgid - The Elfin Knight - A Shetland Spinning Song -The Bonnie Earl of Moray- larla nam Bratach Bana-Willie's Drowned in Yarrow - Afton Waters -A Hebridean Waulking Song - The Twa Corbies -Lord Randal - Na Hao Ri U - The Wee Cooper of Fife.

A Song for Ireland:My Lagan Love - Kitty of Coleraine - A Soft DayOro Mo Bhaidin - Young Bridget O'Malley - DannyBoy - The Spanish Lady - She Moved Through theFair - The Gartan Mother's Lullaby - The Fairy Tree -Ailiu Eanai - Bring Me a Shawl from Galway - DownBy the Sally Garde-The Song of Glendun-An PeataCirce - The Quiet Land of Erin.

Mary O'Hara at the RoyalFestival Hall:Morning Has Broken - Tapestry - A HebrideanMilking Song - Among Silence - Bring me a Shawlfrom Galway-Bridge Over Troubled Water-Forty-fiveYears - Una Bhan - Scarlet Ribbons - Song for aWinter's Night-When I Need You-Lord of the Dance.

Colours:The Colours of My Life - Blow The Wind Southerly -My Favourite Things - Greensleeves -Mr. Tambourine Man - The Rose - You Needed Me -Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring - Being Green - EnglishCountry Garden-The Last Rose of Summer- In MyLife.

Recital:The Lark in the Clear Air- A Fond Kiss- Oaken Ashes-Pedlar's Song - Una Bhan - Eros - Face to Face -Lord of the Dance - Among Silence - The Prayer ofthe Butterfly - A New Year Carol - Come Lord.

Focus on Mary O'Hara (double)The Weaving Song - The Quiet Land of Erin - TheBonnie Boy - She Moved Through the Fair - TheSpanish Lady - My Lagan Love - A Ballynure Ballad -The Next Market Day - Ceol a'Phiobaire - I Wish IHad the Shepherd's Lamb - Eileen Aroon - MyBrown haired Boy - The Stuttering Lovers - TheMinstral Boy - 1 Have a Bonnet Trimmed With Blue -Ballienderry - Beleive Me If All Those EndearingYoung Charms - Anonn's Anoall - 1 Know Where I'mGoing The Spinning Wheel - Paddy's Wife - I KnowMy Love - I Will Walk With My Love - Love's YoungDream-Gaelic Hymn in praise of the Motherof God.

The Last Rose of Summer:Annie Laurie-The Last Rose of Summer-Cucuin aChuaichin - Trottin to the Fair - Lord Randall -A Shetland Lullaby - Child of the Woodland -Roisin Dubh - My Aunt Jane - The Wee Cooper ofFife - Sean's Bhriste Leathair - The Parting - DeirinDe - Gogai-o-Gaog.

In Harmony:Plaisir D'Amour - Rainy Day People - The Clown -The Sun is Burning - Too Much Magic - PussyWillows Cat Tails - Sliabh Nah mBan - A Friend ofMine -The Wee Cooper of Fife - Mon Pays - TheSpinning Wheel.

I

is m<The N<

iry O'Haraimerizing"

York Times

YourSouvenirrogramme

MaryOHamThe Hary O'Hara story has been told iany tiies, The story of a young singer who fell in love, lostthe tan she loved through a tragic illness, withdrew to a Benedictine cloister, and eterged 12 yearslater to resute her career with even greater success, It is a story that has been widely chronicledby the eedia, and yet still holds a great fascination,Since her reappearance before the public in 1977 with a leiorable interview on the Russell Harty Show,Mary has von hearts the world over with her lusic, TV appearances, and concerts, She has perfonedwith great acclaii in all the tajor concert halls of the English speaking world, froi London's RoyalAlbert and Royal Festival Halls, to Nev York's Carnegie Hall, to Australia's Sydney Opera House,

Since eterging frot the cloister Hary O'Hara has added 14 lore albuis to the 7 she had alreadyrecorded and is the author of 3 best-selling books,1985 was a special year for Hary O'Hara, Early on in the year she had two serious accidents whichalaost put paid to her singing and harp-playing career, Yet, by year's end, she had had two TV seriesof her own screened in the UK, one on BBC TV and another on the ITV nettwork, A new albue of hers wasreleased in the suiter and her third book published in the autuin, She also tarried again,1986 start d with the cancellation of 64 concerts scheduled for South Africa, In Harch The EIRESOCIETY of Boston USA conferred on her their coveted Gold Hedal Award for her contribution to theappreciation of Irish Culture, After concerts in the UK and USA in the spring she started a 22concert tour in Australia with a perfortance at the Sydney Opera House on June 29, This was followedby a coast-to-coast tour in Canada in the aututn, finishing in Tucson, Arizona Novetber 16, A concertat the National Concert Hall, Dublin, and another at the-flpera House, Cork, cotpleted her touring for1986, The year ended with the release of Mary's first instrumental albut of popular telodies on theharp for an Australian label (J,4 B, Records) and, tore itportantly in Ireland, her first all Gaelicalbut, a live recording of her concert in the National Gallery, Dublin, (RTE & Gael-Linn)In recent years, because of her new albuts and TV shows in Britain, Hary O'Hara's audiences have grownaccustoted to orchestras and other tusicians accotpanying her, The City of London Sinfonia wasresident orchestra on her rfccent series of 13 prograttes on ITV in the UK, Yet her nate has alwaysbeen associated with that of the Celtic harp, In the past she specialised exclusively in thetraditional song of Ireland and Scotland and this genre of song will always retain the core of herwork

In tonight's selection Hs, O'Hara presents sote of her favourite tusic ranging frot 16th centuryGaelic love songs to a 20th century God-song by Sydney Carter,

mmmmmmmt*" , , , a droll storyteller, charting without ever fawning over her audience,,, it's on the tusical levelthat she's so winning,,, shows a consistently fascinating and surprising phrasing,,, takes fatiliarlyrics yield new levels of leaning,' - GLOBE & HAIL (Toronto, Canada)

"Every opera singer, every lieder singer, every pop star could have learned sotething vital frot HaryO'Hara last night," - SEATTLE TIHES (USA)

"Delicate as dew on a shatrock,,,an extraordinary lady who does the stall things of her showbiz stylein an extraordinary way,,, Her perfortance is pure poetry,,, holds her listeners firtly clasped in herdisciplined grip,,, a voice fragile as a snow-flake and as light and agile as a butterfly,"

- THE AUSTRALIAN"A tagicil evening, 2 hours of sheer delight,,, radiates wartth and sincerity,"

- STAGE i TV TODAY (UK)

"Shows * tastery and understanding of traditional songs with their haunting telodies and altosttagical power," - DAILY TELEGRAPH (UK)

Photo Opposite; Hary outside her hote overlooking Uatership Down, Hants,

;i

j

1C couple of years ago when it/ \e clear to me that I

A--\t to have a place of myA JLown in England, I alreadyhad a good idea what type of house Iwanted. To stan with, it had to be athatched cottage, what I call asophisticated thatched cottage, andwell in the country' rather than in avillage. Small enough to be keptclean without the need of staff, yetlarge enough to accommodate myharps, some books, music, recordsand one or two friends at a time —and be within easy reach of London,and Heathrow airport.

Time is always at a premiumwhere I'm concerned, and shoppingaround was far from easy, having tobe done every now and then be-tween working engagements How-ever, I found it. My ideal cottage. Aseventeenth-century dwelling, origi-nally a worker's cottage which,photographed in mid-winter snowsmakes a charming Chnstmas card,and in high summer qualifies tor achocolate box cover.

Garden worshipWhen my little cottage was built in1662, neither Tolkien nor his hob-bits were yet heard of, but themoment I saw a picture of it in theestate agent's office, I knew it was ahobbit house. No trouble naming it:Rivendell, from Thi Lord of theRmgs. (I thought it a bit much tocall it Bag End.: It stands amongtrees and shrubs on two acres ofland on the edge ot a quiet hamlet.

Something of our personalitiesleaves its mark on our surroundings,or so I believe. We may think weare detached but our dwellings canbecome pan of us. Perhaps thatexplains why, at the LSI moment, Ifound it terribly difficult to leave thelittle flint and bnck terraced cottagewith its tiled roof and no back door,that had been kindly lent me by afriend and had become my tempor-ary home since I'd started singingagain. Close fnends compelled mefinally to move out. They graduallyspirited away my belongings, andone day they came and took withthem my cooking pots, my bed andmy telephone. I had no choice butto follow them to Rivendell in thecounty of Berkshire

My knowledge of gardening isvery limited but I'm learning, andit's hard to descnbe the sheer pleas-ure that the garden here gives me.As soon as I get up in the morning Igo to the bathroom window andspend a good minute just lookingout and rejoicing in the view. Gar-den worship some people would callthat. Maybe. It certainly evokes aprayer of gratitude. As I write, the

MY LITTLEHOBBIT

HOMEMary O'Hara's haven is a cottage, deep

in the Berkshire countryside. Surroundedby her books and her music, she is

slowly collecting the furnishings anddelighting in her garden. Here she shares

her life at Rivendell with us

ancient apple tree standing in thecentre of the lawn is at its most mag-ical, laden with golden fruit.

When the weather is warm andsunny I have meals in the garden,under the apple tree. I spend quitean amount of time actually workingin the garden: weeding, planting,and occasionally swopping thingsaround in the herbaceous borders.

Surroundings are very importantto me, where I know I can do some-thing about them. One of the firstthings I did was to treat myself to acompletely new kitchen of old pineIt looks out on to the idvlhc garden,and to be in this kitchen surroundedby the warm honey-coloured wood,whether eating a meal, washing upor iust relaxing is a special delight

I particularly dislike overheadlighting and, bit by bit, table lampsare taking over. I like a large bath-room so I extended the existing oneand laid attractive rush mattingwhich is more in character. As ithappened, when I arrived at Riven-dcll my worldly chattels were mini-mal and anything I've acquired sincehas been carefully chosen. I try toavoid clutter, keeping the furnituresimple and functional.

All the furniture is light in colour,most of it old pine. After thekitchen the next room to getfinished was the dining room Forabout eighteen months I agonisedover curtains for that room and 1think I've finally got the fabricright. I've chosen sage green andcream which blend beautifully withthe old pine table and welsh dresser.

It was a relief to be able to hangsome of my pictures at last, most ofthem etchings and woodcuts, veryoften of animals and countrv life. Ittook almost two years to find acouch tor the sitting room and sev-eral more months to have it coveredwith material of mv choice. The cur-tains there have only just gone upThat room is pak blue.

At least I feel satisfied that what isthere so far is what I want andthough I would love to have thewhole house decorated, furnishedand curtained as soon as possible, itmust needs be testtna Unu, hurryingslowlv. Mv hie is so full of thingsprofessional clamouring tor attentionthat getting the house in order

unavoidably takes second place, sothe process is a very slow one.

Most days I spend some timepractising the harp indoors, butwhenever the weather is warm,sunny and still I take it outside.During the cooler months I workbefore the large open fireplace in the"middle" room. A log fire may becosy and good for inspiration but it'snot the best for delicate harps. Theygo out of tune with every- variationin the temperature, and being strungwith gut this happens more oftenthan with instruments strung withnylon. Harps thrive best in an even,dry, warmish temperature

I love books. There are some inmost rooms in the house. So far inmy "new" house they remainstacked against the walls or on a fewbnck and plank shelves awaiting myturther attention. Beautiful hand-made things appeal to me; I preferpottery to china, and a blacksmithfriend is making a bookshelf with awrought-iron frame — when he canget around to it — and when that'sdone I'll son out the books — whenI can get around to it. The sameblacksmith has made some hand-some wrought iron fire-irons for me.Even to hold them in the hand is apleasure. Perhaps something of thecare and love that the craftsman bes-tows on his creation communicatesitself to the user. Isn't that onereason whv antique furniture is soattractive and appealing?

Modest tastesBooks are about the only things Ihave that I value. Come to think ofit, there are verv few things in myhouse that would be ot much valueto anyone else. I don't go in forexpensive jewels, priceless orna-ments, or silverware.

In mv kitchen, a wooden bowland horn spoon get the most use.Yes, I have a modest collection ofrecords but most of them are con-nected in some way with my workand I've never thought it necessaryto invest in a costly hi-fi or in avideo machine

Some years ago I was given an oldpine desk as a present. I've alwaysmeant to do my writing sitting atthis desk but so tar I've never gotaround to it. Invariably I end up

sitting on the floor with mv penciland sheets of paper propped up onrny knees. One friend insists thatfunctionally the desk is a disasterbut it looks so lovely. Nowadays mywork requires some son of filingsystem but my music books andprogramme notes are still stackedawav in the drawers of the old pinedesk and when I want to get atsomething I have to empty thewhole lot out. For some reason,whatever I want aJways seems to beat the bottom of a drawer. I'm notan untidy person — but nobodvwould ever classify me as orderly

Friends come to stayMy little hobbit house is a haven,my escape from the less welcomeaspects of my career. I do most ofmy preparatory work at home andapart from my music I have justwritten two books there and am inthe process of writing another. Ihave held protracted meetings withpublishers and television producersunder the apple tree but, under-standably. I'm very careful aboutwho I invite. This is the place wheremy friends come and stay. I dislikegiving panics as much as I loatheattending them. I get flustered if Ihave to cater for more than fourpeople. My fnends, and I'm blestwith many, take pity and do notexpect to be entertained with partieshere. I do that son of entertainingon stage and in television studios.When I have the time I ask myneighbours in for a meal, as they askme in return, but these are far fromformal occasions.

Many friends come to stay withme throughout the year. Childrenentertain themselves with croquetand games of table tennis. I have aseldom-indulged passion for tennis,whether on a table or a lawn, and Imight even get round to building atennis coun. One day.

One thing I regret about my workis that it limits the time I'd like tospend with my friends and for thatreason I appreciate it when some ofthem can come to rne I like ^andneed' penods of qu*ct and takinglong walks, and mv house is ideallysituated for this. I'm blest withexcellent neighbours who look afteithe house in my absence.

In as much as I have roots any-where at present. Rivendell Cottageis where I live and want to be, andit is to this spot that I hurry backwhen my travels in different parts ofthe world make me long for home

Article reprinted by kind permission of Woman and Home

The Celtic HarpThe small Celtic harp, sometimes called the Folk Harp, has beenassociated with Ireland for centuries. As a rule, it was played only bymen and was used for accompanying recitations and the telling ofstories by the travelling story tellers. Poets and musicians - and storytellers - enjoyed an honoured place in the old Celtic cultural traditionof Ireland, and they had considerable influence among the ordinarypeople of the island.

The tradition of story telling continued long after Ireland ceased torun its own affairs and, not surprisingly, many stories took on anaura of resistance and hostility towards foreign rule. Successivegovernments who wished to be rid of Celtic culture banned harpers;and state officials had orders to destroy the harps wherever they werefound.

•The old harps were all wire-strung and the harper plucked at themwith very long nails. A particular punishment for harpers was toorder their nails cut. Nowadays, most harp strings are made of gut ornylon and are plucked with the finger tips instead of with the nails.Also, unlike in the old days, harp playing is no longer the exclusivepreserve of the men of Ireland, nor is it any longer considered, thankHeaven, a treasonable offence to play the harp. Instead, the harp hasfinally achieved the proper recognition it has long deserved.

Ironically, it was an English monarch who first established thatrespectable symbolic connection between Ireland and the harp.Henry VIII in the 16th century used the harp as a symbol of Ireland,and towards the end of that century his daughter, Elizabeth I, had theharp minted on the coins of Ireland. The custom of representingIreland with the harp design gradually gained acceptance thereafterand in the 17th and 18th centuries many of the Irish armies abroadused the harp as their distinguishing badge. At the turn of the 18thcentury the poet Thomas Moore popularized the harp, perpetuatingit as a symbol of resurgent Irish nationalism.

Today, the harp is the most widely recognized symbol of modernIreland. It appears on all official state documents, as well as on thepresidential flag and on the coins of the country. For the small Celticharp the road has been sometimes rocky, but it has survived all thetrials and tribulations and mellowed quite well.

Photo Opposite: THE MBETIIG OF THE WATERS, Co, Vicklow

What the Critics SayThe Advertiser, Wednesday, July 23, 1986 15

Rare joy frompoised sounds

Mary O'Hara; Town Hall; Sunday

O UPPORTED by the rippling delicacy of herO own harp playing, Mary O'Hara performed anevocative, personal selection of songs.

After a busy weekend it was a rare Joy to be ableto relax with these poised sounds wasping calmlyinto the mind.

At the core of Mary O'Hara's artistry is astillness and quiet intensity that gives each song aclarity and truthfulness in high degree.

Technically, her diction is impeccable and thepurity of her tone always paramount. She projectseach song with a precise focus and simple, directexpressiveness.

It was in the traditional Irish songs — whetherdelivered in Gaelic, Anglo-Irish or in an accentmodified for listeners used to some sort ofstandard English — that Mary O'Hara was mostbeautifully and obviously at home.

Here was that gently, introspective, but ex-quisitely shaped flow of melody so characteristicof Irish song. The singing moved freely between asubtly ornamental style and lines of astonishinglysimple breadth: all equally moving.

The program was framed and centred on Irishmelody, from I Know My Love and Quiet Land ofErin, to Oro Mo Bhaidin and the lively rhythms ofStie Didn't Dance.

But from this core, Mary O'Hara moved out andexplored a variety of other national traditions.

For all its popularity, one rarely hears Green-sleeves sung, certainly not shaped and caressed aslovingly as in this performance.

The clarity of the words, warmth of feeling andintensity of line gave the interpretation immenseconviction and a .grave beauty.

A French and German song apiece and somemerry songs of recent origin completed a thor-oughly attractive and refreshing program of song.

Warren Bourne

**s¥w

RECEIPT MABY O'HARA RECORD RELEASES

In Ireland: MARY O'.HARA SA GHAILEARAI IAISIUITA- an RTE/Gael-linn release of an all-Gaelicperformance at the Hational Gallery, Dublin.

Ireland * UK: SPREAD A LITTLE HAPPIFBSS _ songsfrom Mary's recent ITV series backed by City ofLondon Sinfonia (Telstar Records)

In Australia: MARY O'HARA - an instrumentalalbum of popular melodies on the harp <J & BRecords)

Agents for Mary O'Hara:ASHLIHG PROMOTIOIS, Rivendell,RG158LP UK. Tel. (0635) 23689

Plaistow Green, Hr.Telex 268630 VALMUS

lewbury, Berks.

The Scent of the RosesMary O'Hara's own remarkable, true story isthe inspiring account of an unshakeablereligious conviction and a great love story.

"This is a strong but, delicate story, full ofabsorbing interest and a very'good read' indeedone not to be missed. Many will love to readand re-read it — an enriching experience".

(The Methodist Recorder)

"A moving autobiography... she writes with aclean simplicity which is as accomplished asher singing... Ms. O'Hara has applied her newfound gift to the most intensely movingautobiography for many a year".

(John Paddy Browne The Irish Poet)

A Song for Ireland"The Ireland I try and portray in this book is theIreland of my songs; and like one of my earliestrecord albums, Mary O'Hara's Ireland, the songsform a cross-section of what appeals to me inthe Irish tradition."

from Mary O'Hara's Introduction

"From Ireland's ambassadress of song comesthis new and lovely book of the melodies whichepitomize all that the singer finds to be inextric-ably bound up with the land of her birth... Thereis history here, mingled with folklore, personalrecollection and story telling in a lovely pot-pourri, written by a lady who is as adept with thepen as she is with the lilting cadences of anIrish song."

(Tim Cromer CORK EXAMINER)

"A body blow to the Celtic predjudices of anyBriton . . . The lovely book is another reminderthat in art and song the British Isles are a richmine of treasure . . . "

(Southern Evening Echo U.K.)

Both Books Published by Michael Joseph

Mary's third book, to be published in September 1985, is entitled CELEBRATION OF LOVE. This isa unique collection comprising Mary O'Hara's favourite poems, songs, prayers and prose excerts.Mary provides a personal introduction to the book, and to each section of the collection, which isillustrated with photographs and line drawings.

To be Published by Hodder and Stoughton